The Ride for Roswell will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2024, and the team page is up and running. Please consider joining team Niagara Frontier Bicycle Club (NFBC). There is no cost to participate in the 2024 Ride for Roswell, however all riders are asked to fundraise. The Ride raised critically important funds for cancer research and patient care and your fundraising helps give hope to those fighting cancer. Team NFBC riders have raised over $164,000 since we began participating in the ride. You can register by using this link. https://give.roswellpark.org/site/TR/SpecialEvents/General?team_id=17599&pg=team&fr_id=1940

As the year 2023 draws to a close, kindly take a moment to remember an NFBC member who passed on last month. Bruce Jansen’s club membership number was 80--yes, double digits, so he was close to being a founding member of the club. I knew Bruce since I joined the club in 1999 and we rode many many miles together. Of course by that time, Bruce already had a big head start on total mileage. Officially, he logged over 53,000 lifetime miles with the club. Personally, he logged thousands more. He just LOVED to ride, and he loved sharing his passion with other riders. Club Historian Jim Vozga told me that before my time in the club, Bruce was the organizer of some of the first club trips, notably to the Burlington, Vermont area and to the Seagull Century. Bruce told me himself about organizing a couple of club trips to Cape Cod back in the day. He was a car enthusiast and even as a kid could identify every car which rolled by his front porch. Later in life it was Bruce’s hobby to buy, collect and sell all kinds of cars. Bruce’s dad owned Jansen Saddlery on Broadway in Buffalo, which eventually branched out into making leather upholstery for high-end cars, so Bruce was exposed to lots of fancy automobiles as a kid. He also loved and owned LOTS of model cars and trains, and when I knew him, had impressive collections of both.

Bruce was always up for a party or a road trip or an adventure. I took him on his first white water paddling experience on the Genesee River. Here’s hoping he’s having another adventure on the other side--we’ll miss you Bruce.

Liz Skelton

Please save the date -- Friday, December 1 -- for the NFBC End of Season Celebration, 6 to 9 p.m. at Resurgence Brewing Company, 55 Chicago Street at Ohio in Buffalo. This will be a more casual affair in lieu of our more traditional banquet with hors d'oeuvres, dinner stations, cash bar, delightful company, and a streamlined awards ceremony.

Cost is $25 per person and payable by check to NFBC c/o Alisa Mertens, 24 Ashwood Court, Lancaster, NY 14086 or Pay Pal here. But your first opportunity to reserve and pay will be at our fall General Meeting next Wednesday, October 25 at Tom's Pro Bike on Walden Avenue in Lancaster.

Resurgence Brewing promises delicious food, great beer, an exciting environment, and 500 free parking spaces. We hope you will be able to join us. Details on the menu coming soon.